07/25/2026
My patient Cindy was hit with a $10,000 Emergency Room bill. She doesn’t have insurance.
“I should have signed up for that insurance you told me about,” she said.
Technically it’s not insurance. It’s a medical health share plan. In my opinion, it’s better than insurance.
Several of my patients, and I myself, have Zion Healthshare plan. There are other similar healthshares.
Instead of a deductible, there is an IUA – Initial Unsharable Amount. It can be $1250 or $2500 or more, whatever you choose. Coverage is grouped by “incidents.” So in Cindy’s case, she had a probable heart related event. The ER visit would have been $1250 for her (if she chose the lowest IUA), and the followup heart monitor, bloodwork, and cardiology visits would all be covered since it was for the same “incident.”
I have a patient with chronic back pain. His MRI, physical therapy, and specialist visits are all covered as one “incident.” That’s so much better than the typical costs with traditional health insurance.
The monthly price is quite good in my opinion. My daughter just started her first job, and the insurance that was offered is confusing and potentially very expensive. So she signed up for Zion Healthshare for $219 per month for the $1250 IUA.
It’s important to sign up before you have an issue. Pre-existing conditions are generally not covered for the first year.
Zion has a good video comparing the coverage of Zion versus traditional coverage. It’s titled “What is a Zion HealthShare IUA?” I will put a link in the comments below.
For those over 65 yrs old, I recommend Medishare 65 Plus. It's a supplement to Medicare. Three years ago my husband had $490,000 in medical bills. We were only responsible for $500. Amazing!
Pamela Herrington, MD
